FYI: For those of you asking about the scarf in the last post – it is the My So Called Scarf pattern and it’s easy to knit and simply gorgeous.

V-day is coming. I am admittedly not a romantic, as most of my friends know. In my mind, romantics are always setting themselves up for disappointment. I’m a pragmatist. I get shit done (or I try to anyway). It works for us. Just last night I tried to schedule a party with several of my tele betties and Jeremy casually reminded me that one of the dates I suggested was our anniversary. Oops!

Winter is back, as are her winds. We have a movie of non-stop horizontal snow speeding past our picture windows, stripping away any heat in the house. Kaweah is cuddled up in the office on the luxurious faux fur/fleece blanket I made for her in December (and now wish I had bought enough of that awesome faux fur to make one for us because there isn’t any more!)

snuggled up and happy

It’s a good day to get stuff done inside, trusting that the snow outside will stick on the mountains and that good skiing is to be had soon enough. We did take advantage of the break in the weather over the weekend, including getting out for a walkie. I think we tell one another, “Kaweah needs a walk” when what we’re really saying is “I need to get outside and breathe some mountain air.” It’s good for all involved.

she carried this stick for the duration of the walk

and didn’t want to give it up

some intervention was required before she made mulch of it (and ate it)

please give me my stick back

I used to be an impulse shopper when I first started working right out of college. All that money, no responsibilities, I was maxing out my retirement contributions and I *still* had tons of money. I realize now just how dangerous it was to live right behind a Williams-Sonoma in Pasadena. What cured me of that nasty habit in short order was moving – often and across the country. There’s nothing like packing stuff you don’t really need in 100 degree heat to fix the accumulation of junk. That, and I hate clutter. Being poor graduate students helped to put finances in perspective. So even though we now have a house large enough to store a lot more crap than we currently have, we think hard about what we want to purchase, where the heck we’re going to put it, and if we truly need it and will use it. One of the many wonderful things about my relationship with Jeremy is that we never fight about money (we never fight). He was supportive of my purchase of these Gastroflex silicone bombe molds that I’ve been eying for two years ever since I used them in my pastry course. Especially after I mentioned “chocolate” when describing my intended uses. I waited this long to make sure I *really* wanted them.

what else, but chocolate shells

I’ve seen several varieties of silicone molds, but most of the ones in cookware stores are flimsy at best. These molds are the industrial versions and I love them. I love them. I looooooove them. Love them. Love. Another reason I waited so long to purchase them was that I had to be sure I could master tempering. Even though I say I hate tempering… I am getting proficient enough at it that I’m more comfortable with the process and have tempered a lot of chocolate in the past two months alone. Wooooo! Someone smack me!

fill with chocolate mousse

Brushing one coat of chocolate is not going to do the trick. I brushed two coats and in hindsight, I’d recommend three coats. That’s not a problem if your chocolate is tempered properly because the first coat dries in a minute and once you’re done coating all of the molds, the first one is ready for the next coat. If you put them in the freezer to firm up the chocolate (again, only if your chocolate wasn’t tempered properly) then be sure to let the chocolate come to room temperature before applying the next coat. Otherwise your warm chocolate will become a gunky mess that sticks and hardens too quickly while you’re brushing chocolate onto a cold shell.

plop a couple of raspberries in

The last thing you should make when assembling the bombes is the chocolate mousse (or any flavor mousse). In my pastry class we filled the shells with mousse and then had several variations of the little surprise in the middle: caramel, peanut butter ganache, etc. I chose raspberries because I like to have that 1% of something healthy in the mix.

cutting out chocolate chiffon cake bases

I filled the molds a little full because I omitted the chocolate short dough base. If I included the short dough base, I would have filled the molds only 2/3 full and squashed the chiffon circle into the mold so that they were flush with the edges of the molds.

placing them on top of each mold

The molds then go into the freezer. Why? Because the mousse needs to be firm enough to maintain the structure of the chocolate shell when you invert the bombes. How do I know this? Because I initially tried to unmold a bombe that had been in the refrigerator and cracked the shell. Jeremy happily ate that failure.

oh, did i mention that i bought a sheet of mini bombe molds too?

Once the bombes are unmolded, let them come to room temperature or place them in the refrigerator so that when you serve them, the mousse is soft, smooth, and creamy. I embedded one raspberry in each of the smaller bombe molds. They are totally cute. We sent large bombes over to our favorite neighbors.

big bombe

little bombe

Chocolate Mousse Bombes[print recipe]from the Culinary School of the Rockies

Oven 375°F. Prep pans by buttering bottom and sides. Place parchment in pan and butter the parchment. Sift dry ingredients (except granulated sugar) into a large bowl. Mix all ingredients (except the 13 ounces of egg whites and granulated sugar) in the large bowl until combined. Whip whites and granulated sugar to medium peaks. Fold into batter gently a third at a time (tempering the batter). Bake until set, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and remove from pan. Let cool completely on a rack.

In a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure that the bowl fits snuggly over the pan and does not touch the water), melt together the chocolate, milk, and butter. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm. Whisk in the egg yolk. In a mixer, whip the cream to medium peaks and fold it into the chocolate mixture.

Assembly:
With the chocolate in temper, brush a layer of chocolate in each mold. When the chocolate has cooled and is solid, apply another coat of tempered chocolate. Finish with a third coat. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 12 rounds from the chocolate chiffon cake. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the chocolate mousse. Pipe mousse into each mold about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Gently press two raspberries into the center of each bombe so that they are enveloped by the mousse. Top each mold with a round of cake. Freeze until firm (about 2 hours). Unmold the bombes and let return to room temperature before serving or store covered in the refrigerator.

I will *never* smack you for tempering chocolate…Never Ever…especially when the outcome is as good as these little bombes and bombettes! Just scrumptious!
Miss K in her blanket is adorable! Ok, Bailey did three jumps over K’s pictures here… :)

Well, now I need those molds–:) The one thing I do when I break down and buy something– I do a ton of research and make sure I get the best I can afford. Especially when it comes to my kitchen equipment–I know my tastes will change with other things, but I will always love to bake and cook.
These look wonderful–can it get any better than chocolate with raspberries?

The little healthy 1% also happens to be 50% beautiful surprise and 100% delicious. Looking great. We made something similar, but a little less labor intensive (not chocolate shell) in the pastry class I took, but these are just over the top gorgeous. I’m sure they tasted as good as they looked if not better :)

Puppy pictures! Plus snow! With chocolate and raspberries! I’ll be over there on the floor swooning with delight.

Did you get those molds online or at a store such as Williams Sonoma? Sometimes I feel like WS is big on special one-use gadgetry and less so on other things. But who am I kidding, I probably just miss the rest ’cause I’m drawn over to their wall of special contraptions if only for amusement’s sake. I mean, they’ve got separate mozzarella, pineapple, tomato, and garlic slicers! Its like a food gadget museum!

I just had to turn my iBook around to show MrBee Kaweah, because she is just SO adorable, and we can’t wait to get our little bundle of furry joy at some point this year :)
Also- NOMNOMNOM with the mousse-y domes of joy!! Mmmm raspberries.

Kaweah looks wonderfully cute all wrapped up and cozy. That is a great photo shot! Everytime I come on to your blog, and see something yummy to eat, I become hungry, even if I wasn’t hungry to start with. You rock!

AAAHH! i remembr a french customer of mine came into my shop gushing about Le Bombe cakes in Paris…this is what it must look like since she described them as something quite like a giant truffle. It looks fantastic and just perfect for Valentine’s ;)

Those bombes are breath taking. I do believe I would be a nervous wreck trying to get them to be perfect; and yours are….they look spectacular.

And Miss K., oh what can I say that I haven’t already said about Miss Photogenic? She is precious, absolutely precious. I’m so happy you have her. If she makes you one third as happy as my puppy makes me, well, we are the bless ones! I count myself fortunate each and every day. I know you feel the same. Kisses to that beautiful doggie. She’s a winner!

Whoa, I hear ya about how moving is THE cure for pack rats! After moving six times in four years, I finally learned my lesson… when I moved to Oxford, I only brought two suitcases and one small carry-on. Yeah, more power to us!

The bombes look amazing, and Kaweah’s eyes!!! My goodness, how can anyone resist that face! I bet she knows how adorable she is and uses that face often…

My husband and I do the same thing as far as buying stuff goes. We decided we want something. And then we wait. Until we are absolutely sure that it’s something that we want enough to spend the money on. Plus, we’re still in the living-in-a-small-apartment, could-move-again-at-any-time phase.

As soon as I saw the photo of the Bombs I loved them. I immediately went out & bought all necessary ingredients, borrowed the silicon molds from my sister (who’s a chef) & ran home to make them.
They turned out perfect, beginner’s luck I guess (:
Thanks so much for your exciting & innovative ideas, keep them coming. High fine :)

Ooh, so shiny… :) Can *I* be your neighbor, Jen? (raspberries + chocolate are a weakness of mine…) And you are totally making me feel guilty for only using my silicone molds twice in its lifetime! I need more time to make entremets, sigh…
I love that it was Jeremy who reminded you of your anniversary. If he didn’t know you inside-out by now he probably would have been wounded by that, hee hee :)

Ahem can I be your favorite neighbor? those look amazing! p.s. where did you get that Halti Collar for your doggie? I need one, I have one but I have never seen that design before, I have a 96 lb Doberman and the one I have does not work very well. peciate it!

thank you for a fabulous post! of course, I am sitting here in tears enjoying the Labbie pictures…she is gorgeous, and such an imp! I love how you catch her “looks!” then, there are the bombs (sorry, I couldn’t help myself)… your neighbors must push and shove to be your current ‘favorite!’

Mollie – diggity! YOU crack ME up. K’s blanket is extra gross now. If you curl up with her, you will be covered in dog hair.

Rose – hee hee.

Heather – you will be! Just have some courage and patience!

Debbie – Jeremy finished the last one over the weekend :(

Hala – your sister is a chef?! HOW COOL! I am jealous. The bombe molds are awesome, no? I’d hardly call it beginner’s luck – you must know your way around the kitchen :)

Mark – yes, if you can stand the cold! :) Dude, you have molds? Why no use?! :( pooo.

Jess – ha!

SallyBR – she’s a funny pup, indeed.

Cindy – thanks :)

Kathy – your doctor might not though!

Mrs. E – thanks sweetie. I’m not sure how much people would be willing to pay for treats like these up here…

Abby – that’s what happens when you have time on your hands and lots of chocolate.

Asianmommy – thanks!

Peabody – yes, so it’s officially 51% healthy, right? right?! :)

Cheryl – I think we picked the halti up years ago at a petsmart or petco. If you can’t find it, then google halti. I know they must have them because they are great!

Farmerpam – the really little ones are easy to eat more than one!

Melissa – yeah, I have friends who have said the same thing. When I went through my sister’s things after she died, I was amazed at what she kept. She was definitely more sentimental than I am (and she had a huge house too).

Laura – our neighbors get excited when our phone number lights up on their phone :)

I made these a few weeks ago in a mini muffin pan and they turned out great! The chocolate mousse is absolutely amazing and extremely versatile!
I did make the mistake of not using the cake and had then entire thing enrobed in dark chocolate. Though delicious, it caused some messy cracking upon the first bite.
Thanks!

Jen, i have made these before, but not with fresh fruit. This time, i would like to use raspberries, but since they need to be frozen, i am worried that the raspberries might become mushy once the bombes are defrosted. They do not look so in the pictures, but i still wanted to ask you.
Thanks for the great recipe.

Hi I am from Japan and First time I used a silicone mold with your recipe!
I put dipped Raspberry Chocolate on the top of the cake.
Yum Yum, We will have a guest tonight and I can not wait to serve the dessert.
Thank you so much, Arigato!

I love what you made. I want to make something called Zebra Domes (they have them at the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney World), but I can’t find molds that are dome shaped. Yours seem to be perfect and if they were smaller(you mentioned about buying mini ones), I would be happy to buy them myself. I went all over the stores that sell kitchen ware, supplies and what not. I don’t think I have left a store unturned in the NY/NJ area. Where can I find molds like those you used? You could email me if you like carter929@aol.com
Thanks,
Lilly

I realize this post is from years ago- but I just can’t keep myself from responding. Your recipe is amazing! I love making mousse bombes. One trick I’d like to share for anyone who doesn’t have the silicone molds is to pipe the mousse onto the cake cut outs in a mound shape- set in the freezer until firm, then dip by hand into the tempered chocolate. Set on a rack to dry.